Friday, May 3, 2013

Heart flutters

What girl doesn't want heart flutters, right? Well...only when there's a cute boy around and those heart flutters can actually be explained. 

About three weeks ago, I started having flutters in my chest. I looked up it up online and I didn't have any other symptoms - I wasn't short of breath or lightheaded or dizzy. It actually seemed fairly common and could be anything from stress to the valves of the heart basically firing at different times or creating a sort of echo heartbeat. So I hoped it would go away on its own. Ever since I hurt my back three months ago, it's been one thing after another with my body so I thought 'ok, this is just one more bizarre thing to deal with.' A few days later when it hadn't gone away or gotten any better, I called my doctor to see if he could fit me in. Long story short, he ordered tests for me at the cardiology clinic.

My tests were this past Wednesday. I had an echocardiagram (a sonogram of the heart...it was actually quite interesting to see my heart on the screen), an electrocardiogram (I had to lie NAKED from the waist up on a table and get hooked up with a bunch of wires but the actual test took less than two minutes), and get hooked up for a 48-hour Holter monitor (it constantly monitors the heart's rhythms). None of it was as bad as I expected. The echocardiogram took about 40 minutes, but I'd been warned about that when I called to make the appointment. Overall I was at the clinic for almost two hours, but everyone was really nice, so it wasn't so bad.


I thought I'd have issues with the Holter monitor, but it was pretty easy. It was attached in seven different places to my chest and torso and the actual monitor hung around my neck. I was worried I'd have trouble sleeping (or that I'd strangle myself in the night with all the chords), but I slept really well both nights. I took the monitor off this morning and I swear some skin came off with the tape. Even after scrubbing it and then having a shower, I'm still covered in tape marks and sticky bits!

So, if you ever have to have these tests done, don't worry. They're painless. An added bonus was that when I tweeted the picture of myself hooked up to the monitor, I got about half a dozen people telling me they'd had one, plus the tests I'd had, so it made me feel better that it seems like a fairly common thing. I'm just paranoid, especially after all I've been through health-wise in the last three months. I know a lot of people go through much, much worse, so I'm not complaining, I just really hope it's nothing serious. I go see my family doctor again on May 24th and I have to have blood work done before then too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a clean bill of health...my back has been much better this week, so it would be amazing if in the next few weeks I was 100% better all around and could get ready for a great summer!
    

 


 

1 comment:

Jessica L. Tate said...

Still thinking about you and crossing my fingers for you as well. Considering how many people have had this as well, it probably is just a fluke. Stress related or something you're subconsciously thinking about. When will you know for sure the results? Do you have to wait until your next office visit or will they call you before then? Let me know when you know please! :)